Summary of March’s Meeting

Hello OCGS Members,

Spring has arrived and we hope everybody is doing well!

NOTICE: If you have not paid your 2021 Annual Dues, this will be the last e-mail you will receive. However, you are still welcome to attend our open meetings as guests. Meetings continue to be held on the 4th Monday at 1:00 for the business meeting (for members and members with guests); & 1:30 for the open meeting for both members and unattended guests. While the library is closed these meetings are conducted via Zoom. As a guest you can find our Zoom link posted each month on our website, or you can contact Traci to email you the link. At the present time the monthly evening Campfire Meeting is being limited to members only while we determine exactly the direction this new meeting will take.

We know genealogy interests ebb and flow as life gives us its daily twists and turns but we are always glad to see past members and hope someday you will get to rejoin us.

The summary of the March meeting.

The President, Barbara, was unable to attend due to health issues. We wish Barbara a speedy recovery.

Traci gave the Treasury report, details will be available in the official minutes. We continue to receive steady donations from research being conducted.

No new public relations occurred outside regular correspondence with fellow researchers.

There was continuing correspondence with an out-of-state woman looking for a marriage certificate which we have been unable to help her locate.

A unique request came from Oregon in the form of a prison inmate doing his genealogy. Due to his situation, we helped him with research without asking for a donation. We provided him with 1 obituary, 3 funeral home cards, and information about a marriage certificate available for his line.  We hope our resources has helped him in his task.

A Texas man made a general inquiry about how to find out about the coal mining companies in and around Henryetta, where he had ancestors. We referred him to some published sources and to the Henryetta Library. He confirmed, later, they were helping him and indicated he may ask for our help with specific names in the future.

A letter was received from a woman in California, whom we helped looking up local information. 

In other correspondence, it was announced our club had been contacted by the Southern California Genealogical Society.  They wish us to spread the news about their annual Genealogy Jamboree which will take place in June.  This will be the 50th annual occurrence of the Jamboree!  Because of the pandemic this year the Jamboree will be held through virtual meetings and will give us an opportunity of taking advantage of this resource from our homes.  

Details about the Jamboree is included at the end of this summary, including times, pricing, and registration information.  Members are also encouraged to look at into their free webinars they offer twice a month.  More information about these free webinars can be found at http://www.scgsgenealogy.com/webinar/jes-index.html.  (Just copy and past this URL in your browser).  We have also agreed to help them by posting an advertising notice on the front page of our website.  By joining together our different societies can reach many researchers and help them with their projects.

The last year has seen a steady stream of requests for help from all over the United States. We are thankful for the ability to help others and for the generosity which these people have shown.

Old business consisted of reporting on the purchase of a speaker/microphone and assorted cables. The speaker/microphone was used in the library meeting room today during our business session and proved to be sufficient to meet our future needs when the library reopens.

Unfortunately, there was no new news on when the library reopening may occur. We will let everyone know when it does and will post it on our website and in the local newspaper.

New business consisted of a motion to purchase five new genealogy books for the Okmulgee Public Library. The list was sent out to all members prior to the meeting and the members present voted in favor of the purchase. Due to the amount being over the $50 limit for virtual meetings the motion will be emailed to the membership for an email vote. Email voting will be accepted through March 29, 2021.

Since no other business was presented the meeting adjourned and was turned over to the informal open meeting portion for general discussion of all things genealogical.

Unfortunately, our California member was not able to attend so we are left waiting another month to hear the “rest of the story” of how she was able to find out about a relative for whom she had been looking for information for over 25 years. (Our Zoom meter ran out last month at the critical moment in her story).

It was mentioned that this month’s Campfire Meeting was both entertaining and informative. Each of the members were asked to share how long they had been doing genealogy and what sparked their interests. The stories varied widely and one member mentioned he started his over 60 years ago!

Although the stories took up the hour, the group wished to stay another 30 minutes in order to see the webinar which had been scheduled. It was about how to use some specific techniques and methods to get more out of the Google search engine to find stories, photos, websites, etc. which contain information about your specific ancestor. No matter how much we learn, there is always one more trick we can try.

Campfire Meetings are on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 6:30, via Zoom. We are hoping between having an afternoon meeting and an evening meeting it will add flexibility in being to get together with fellow members at least once a month.

In today’s open meeting, members were reminded that family search is often under utilized in regards to their resources. Specifically, the records, images, books, and research Wiki were mentioned as tools to keep in mind. A specific instance of finding an 1893 and 1903 marriage certificates filed in Oklahoma Territory was mentioned, using the images tab and reviewing images which are not digitally indexed. A short demonstration was given.

Another resource: https://glorecords.blm.gov/ was mentioned, where it was reported a member found 3 land deeds, in this case related to the opening of Oklahoma Territory during the land runs. This is a good resource for finding land records of original owners throughout the United States, as the government opened each section of the country to new settlers.

We hope all will enjoy the warmer weather arriving and hope to see you in one of our meetings.

Disclaimer: The public summaries added to our website will no longer contain names of members and will not contain specific financial information of the club. Members can obtain financial information through the distribution of the monthly minutes or by contacting the Treasurer. 

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